Minnesota Gets Ready for Electronic Voting Roster Test

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota election officials steering a pilot project that brings more technology into polling places are getting wide-ranging estimates of the cost to use electronic poll-books on a broader scale.

A limited number of precincts will test the electronic rosters are next month's municipal elections. They'll be using equipment supplied by a handful of vendors. Ahead of that experiment, a task force assigned to the project met Wednesday to discuss programming challenges, hardware costs and data security.

They must report in January to state lawmakers, who may expand the use of e-poll books across Minnesota.

 
The rosters are an alternative to paper sign-in sheets at precincts. Officials say a shift could save money and reduce errors in the long-run, but the upfront costs could reach into the thousands per precinct.